Kuibyshev Railway

The Kuibyshev Railway is among the country’s largest mainlines. It links European Russia with the economically vital regions of the Urals and Middle Asia. It runs across three republics (Tatarstan, Bashkortostan and Mordovia) and seven regions (Ryazan, Penza, Tambov, Chelyabinsk, Ulyanovsk and Samara).

The Kuibyshev Railway is one of the oldest Russian railways. Its history dates back to the Morshansk-Syzran line put into operation in 1874. This line was 485 versts (about 520 km) long; it operated 42 steam locomotives, 47 Morse apparatus, 530 freight carriages, 52 passenger cars and 15 baggage cars.

In 1875, the decision was taken to span the Volga River by a bridge at Syzran, a town 40 km from Samara. Nikolay Apollonovich Belelyubskiy, an outstanding Russian scientist and bridge engineer was in charge of construction works. The special importance of the bridge was that this was the only rail link between Central Russia, on the one hand, and Siberia and Turkestan, on the other. As bridge construction was a matter of national importance it was personally supervised by Tsar Alexander the Second. 7 million gold roubles were spent to carry out the project.

The inauguration of the bridge took place on August 30, 1880. Until 1919, its official name was Alexander Bridge. For a long period of time, it was a unique engineering structure – the 1.5 km girder bridge¹ had 13 spans 110 meters each. Since 1957, railway traffic has been carried on the double-track line.

These days, the Kuibyshev Railway as a branch of RZD JSC (Joint-Stock Company) provides sustainable development² of the Volga-Urals economic region. It has five divisions: Samara, Ruzaevka, Penza, Ulyanovsk, Bashkiria. The operating length of the mainline is 11.5 thousand km (the total length of the Russian railways is 85 thousand km), 7.2 thousand km are main-line tracks. There are over 330 stations, including six marshalling yards. The railway operates 23 locomotive and car depots to maintain and repair rolling stock.

Freight traffic is a top priority for the Kuibyshev Railway. Among the most important goods transported are oil and oil products, chemicals, timber, cement, construction materials, automobiles, etc. Annually, over 60 mln tons of freight is carried by the Kuibyshev Railway. The introduction of advanced technologies into rail industry ensures safe and timely delivery of goods.

More than 30 mln people are transported by our railway every year. Passenger traffic is provided by long-distance trains, including named trains, as well as by local trains. Electrical multiple-unit trains (EMUs) are very popular among people living on the territory served by the Kuibyshev Railway. Every year, 25 million people travel by commuter trains.

Notes: ¹girder bridge – мост с балочным пролётным строением;

²sustainable development – устойчивое развитие.

Ex. 11. Answer the following questions. Be careful: one question has nothing to do with the content of the text. You are free to choose between giving your answer and skipping the question.

1. What republics and regions does the Kuibyshev Railway run across?

2. When was the first section of the line put into service? What towns did it connect?

3. What was the length of the Morshansk-Syzran line?

4. How many marshalling yards were there on this line?

5. When was it decided to build a bridge across the Volga River?

6. Why was this construction a matter of national importance?

7. What was Nikolay Apollonovich Belelyubskiy?

8. Were the construction works sufficiently financed?

9. When was the official opening held?

10. Was Alexander Bridge a unique engineering structure? Prove it.

Ex. 12. Choose the best alterative to complete the sentences.

1. The Kuibyshev Railway is a ___ of RZD JSC.

a) division b) branch c) part

2. The Kuibyshev Railway has ___ divisions.

a) five b) six c) seven

3. The operating length of the Kuibyshev Railway is ___.

a) 85 000 km b) 7 200 km c) 11 500 km

4. ___ stations are not marshaling yards.

a) 330 b) 324 c) 336

5. Locomotive and car depots are used to ___ and repair rolling stock.

a) maintain b) build c) operate

6. Freight traffic is more profitable than ___ traffic.

a) air b) passenger c) road

7. The latest technologies provide safe and ___ delivery of goods.

a) timely b) firmly c) daily

8. Trains of high comfort are called ___ trains.

a) family b) name c) named

9. If I travel to Novokuibyshevsk, I will take ___.

a) an EMU b) a long-distance train c) a plane

10. Every year, ___ people travel by commuter trains.

a) 25 million b) 25 thousand c) 2.5 million

Ex. 13. Translate the text into English. Do it in written form.

Куйбышевская железная дорога – одна из наиболее важных магистралей Российской Федерации. Дорога соединяет Европейскую часть России с Уралом и Средней Азией. В настоящее время эксплуатационная длина Куйбышевской железной дороги составляет свыше 11 тысяч километров.

Строительство дороги началось во второй половине 19-го века. Первый участок между Моршанском и Сызранью был пущен в эксплуатацию в 1874 году. Его длина составляла около 520 километров. Для того времени это была современная дорога, оснащенная новейшим оборудованием. По дороге курсировали 42 паровоза, 530 грузовых и 52 пассажирских вагона.

Одним из самых знаменитых сооружений на Куйбышевской железной дороге является мост через Волгу у Сызрани. Его строительство началось в 1875 году и длилось пять лет. Руководителем строительных работ был выдающийся ученый и инженер-мостовик Н.А. Белелюбский. Данный мост имел огромное стратегическое значение. Мост имеет 13 пролетов; длина каждого пролета 110 метров.

В настоящее время Куйбышевская железная дорога – это филиал открытого акционерного общества ОАО РЖД. Дорога имеет пять отделений – Самарское, Рузаевское, Ульяновское, Пензенское и Башкирское. На дороге имеется 320 станций, в том числе 6 сортировочных станций.

Куйбышевская железная дорога осуществляет как грузовые, так и пассажирские перевозки. Ежегодно перевозится свыше 60 миллионов тонн грузов, важных для устойчивого экономического развития всей страны, – нефть и нефтепродукты, строительные материалы, автомобили и т.д.

Более 30 миллионов пассажиров в год пользуются услугами Куйбышевской железной дороги. Пассажирские перевозки осуществляются поездами дальнего следования, местными поездами, электричками.